Jo Ann M. Gora
Encyclopedia
Dr. Jo Ann Marie Gora is the 14th President of Ball State University
. Before coming to Ball State she was a chancellor of the University of Massachusetts
, and, prior to that, she was the Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs at Old Dominion University
in Virginia
. Gora, a native New Yorker, is married to Roy Budd and has a son and a stepdaughter. Budd works in the area of workforce and economic development, her son, Jesse Gora is a clinical psychologist in Salt Lake City, UT, and her stepdaughter, Tiffany Budd, works for the North Carolina
Department of Agriculture.
and master's and doctoral degrees in sociology from Rutgers University
.
. This helped lead the way for her presidency at Ball State University.
, took a leave of absence for a semester, leaving Gora as the university's acting president. At that time in Virginia
, Gora became the first female president of a doctoral institution in Virginia. In addition to being the first female president, she influenced the rise in university admission standards, expanded their honors college, and developed a state-wide distance learning program.
Ball State University
Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana. It is also known as Ball State or simply BSU.Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans and includes 106 buildings...
. Before coming to Ball State she was a chancellor of the University of Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts
This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...
, and, prior to that, she was the Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs at Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University is a state university located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...
in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Gora, a native New Yorker, is married to Roy Budd and has a son and a stepdaughter. Budd works in the area of workforce and economic development, her son, Jesse Gora is a clinical psychologist in Salt Lake City, UT, and her stepdaughter, Tiffany Budd, works for the North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
Department of Agriculture.
Education
Gora earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Vassar CollegeVassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
and master's and doctoral degrees in sociology from Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
.
University of Massachusetts
Gora served as chancellor in August 2001 and helped expand its honors college as well as dedicated herself to the growth of the campus and its students. She was responsible for also raising admission standards, increasing community outreach, as well as rewiring the campus to include increased bandwidth. She stated in her inaugural speech that she was committed to the construction of residence halls as well as the external perspective of University of MassachusettsUniversity of Massachusetts
This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...
. This helped lead the way for her presidency at Ball State University.
Old Dominion University in Virginia
Gora served as provost and vice-president for academic affairs. In 1995, President James V. Koch of Old Dominion UniversityOld Dominion University
Old Dominion University is a state university located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...
, took a leave of absence for a semester, leaving Gora as the university's acting president. At that time in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Gora became the first female president of a doctoral institution in Virginia. In addition to being the first female president, she influenced the rise in university admission standards, expanded their honors college, and developed a state-wide distance learning program.
Publications
- The New Female Criminal: Empirical Reality or Social Myth?
- Emergency Squad Volunteers: Professionalism in Unpaid Work
Ball State University
Gora currently serves as the president of Ball State University. She was appointed by the Ball State University Board of Trustees in May 2004, beginning her presidency in August of that year. Upon her inauguration at Ball State Gora forwent a traditional ceremony and used the money to establish a scholarship fund.Effect on Ball State University
- Made Ball State a "smoke-free campus" with designated secluded smoking areas.
- Has been involved in over $418 million dollars of completed or current construction to change the face of Ball State.
- McKinley Safety Improvement Project Phase 1 & 2
- Ball State University: Indianapolis Center (2006)
- Bookmark Cafe in Bracken Library (2007)
- Scheumann StadiumScheumann StadiumScheumann Stadium , formerly known as Ball State Stadium, is in Muncie, Indiana. It is primarily used for football, and is the home field of the Ball State University Cardinals...
Renovation (2007) - David LettermanDavid LettermanDavid Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
Communication and Media Building (2007) - Park Hall (2007)
- Renovation of the Student Center (2009) in two phases costing $19 million to completely remodel the first floor, provide wheelchair access to the main entrance and to update mechanical systems.
- DeHority Hall $20.2 million renovation into new Honors College residence hall (2009)
- Renovation of the Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball mansion (2009) on Riverside Avenue at a cost of $1.2 million from a residential structure into new offices and classrooms to house the Honors College, removal of tennis courts and driveway and conversion of the detached garage structure into a classroom for 40 students.
- Student Recreation and Wellness Facility (2010), $40 million in renovations and new construction adding five additional gymnasiums, a rock-climbing wall, indoor 1/8 mile track and facilities for indoor soccer, baseball and rugby.
- Thomas J. Kinghorn Hall (2010), a $35.6 million, 206000 square feet (19,138 m²) facility to house 600 students at the northeast edge of campus, at New York and Neely avenues.
- Marilyn K. Glick Center for Glass (2010), home of the University's bachelor of fine arts and master of fine arts in visual arts. Made possible by a $5 million grant from the Glick Foundation, the Center for Glass includes more than 10000 square feet (929 m²) of space with a hot shop consisting of two gas-fired glass furances. The building is unique in that it is the first designed to utilize the campus's geothermal heating and cooling system now under construction.
- A. Umit Taftali Center for Capital Markets and Investing (2010)
- Ball State Welcome Center (2010)
- Geothermal Conversion Project
Awards and honors
- The Indiana Commission for Women named Gora a 2005 Torchbearer, the highest honor given to women by the state of Indiana.
- In 2006, the Coalition of Women's Organizations of Delaware County honored Gora with the Vivian Conley Award for her dedication for community contributions.
- Indianapolis Business Journal named her one of the 19 most influential women in Indiana.
- Gora received the Walter S. Blackburn Award in 2006 because of her work promoting the Ball State University College of Architecture and PlanningBall State University College of Architecture and PlanningThe College of Architecture and Planning, otherwise known as CAP, is an academic college of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana offering degrees in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban Planning, Historic Preservation, and Urban Design, and is Indiana's only state-assisted Architecture...
IndianapolisIndianapolisIndianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
Center.